Very, Very High Brush Fire Danger Expected Throughout This Week Across Western & Central Mass

I cannot emphasize enough how seriously the brush fire danger is right now across Western and Central Mass.

There were numerous brush fires that occurred over the weekend across the area, including but not limited to a couple of brush fires in Brimfield, one in Sturbridge and one in Rutland. In fact, a new brush fire is now happening right now in Barre.

The brush fire danger today is expected to be very, very high across the entire area due to a combination of lots of sunshine, very dry ground conditions and low humidity values.

My recommendation to you is to avoid any activities that could lead to a quickly moving and quickly spreading brush fire or wildfire. These include having bonfires or lighting fires in your firepits, using chainsaws or power tools in high grass or in dry leaves, idling your vehicle in tall grass or on dry leaves, improperly discarding cigarettes and dumping ash in leaves or high grass.

How dry are the conditions right now? A vehicle accident last night in Sturbridge knocked down some power lines igniting a fast moving brush fire. Fortunately, that brush fire was put out quickly by Sturbridge Fire, but just some sparks from live power lines caused a pretty significant brush fire.

Finally, these very high brush fire danger values are expected to continue throughout this week across the entire area and unfortunately, there is no significant rainfall in the forecast for at least the next week.